Two biomarkers validated as predictive of renal failure

A new study validates two novel biomarkers as predictive of acute kidney injury (AKI), or acute renal failure, an asymptomatic condition that often is fatal.

Lead author Azra Bihorac, MD, associate professor of anesthesiology, medicine and surgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine, and her colleagues showed that when taken together, the following two markers can predict AKI within two hours of testing: TIMP-2, a tissue inhibitor gene and a binding protein known as IGFBP7.

In the multicenter study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 420 critically ill patients were recruited from 23 enrollment sites.

Of those, participants with TIMP-2 and IGFBP7 biomarkers were seven times more likely to develop AKI than other critically ill patients. Three independent nephrologists confirmed the diagnosis of AKI as part of the validation process, according to the study,

Currently, a biomarker test for AKI only is available in Europe. In the U.S., FDA 510(k) clearance is pending.

Bihorac also is working with researchers to develop a clinical algorithm to be tested at UF Health that uses EHRs to score patients’ probable risk of developing AKI.